Recommendations on Cookware
 

Hey guys, I need to buy all new cookware (just got a new place and need to furnish the kitchen), do you all have any suggestions?

what kind of cookware?

pans or pots?

everything

Budget?

if it can be justified

I received a set of All-clad pans as a gift, they're great and if you take care of them they'll last forever.

scanpan or le creuset

OK:

www.jbprince.com

copper, high maintenance, great conductor
stainless steel, low maint- poor conductor
aluminum, great conductor, but it will kill you.
teflon, no sticky, but will kill you
Cast iron, great conductor, high maintenace
Enamelled Cast iron, great conductor, low maintenance Chasseur or Le Creuset
French steel, great for saute work, eggs and omelettes, but not for sauces

2 best choices:
Copper, 1.5mm minimum with either tin or steel interior.
TRI-ply Stailess steel body with copper and aluminum bottom, such as All clad.

1st

Write down the pans you actually need. Avoid the package sets. These will usually add filler of 1 and 1.5 qt sauce pans and lids. You most likely will never use pans this small. Also, those in-pan pasta strainers are a waste. Buy the pans you need and buy the best you can afford.

2nd

Go to your local cooking store. Pick up the pans and get feel for them. They should be heavy for their size. Don't buy the first ones you see. Look around and check the web link at the top.


Cooking tip. Heat your pans without oil until hot, then add oil. Let coat the bottom and sit for 30 seconds. This will prevent items from sticking.

If you want Imported French copper, PM me. It is expensive.

:iagree: with all of that good detail from realchef.


We really like our Tri ply All Clad. I wouldn't automatically discount getting the promotional sets, once you determine which pots you want. See what the price difference is vs buying them individually.

we got 'Green Pan' for a pretty decent price and they don't scratch/stick or anything like that.

i'm no chef btw..

I have mix of All-Clad and Paderno. For the money, I much prefer the Paderno. Most of my All-Clads cookware doesn't sit flat anymore. All of my Paderno pots and pans sit perfectly flat. It doesn't have the big name of All-Clad however so you won't be seeing it on Food Network.

I agree with JCL, pick the pieces you want and compare the open stock prices with the set prices. I find that the set prices are usually discounted more, so even if you end up with pieces you don't want it may end up costing less.

JA Henckles... Best Knives

Walmart, No?

Demeyere and Le Creuset. Mix and match for me...

Darn, you guys really know your stuff. If I ever run short on pots and pans, Ikea and Walmart solve it.

lol i was thinking the same thing.

sorry, but no.

Wusthof Trident. Classic or Grand Prix the best modern knives. Best overall Knives are vintage Sabatiers (pre 1985) Such as K Sabatier.

NO

The only things I have in my kitchen from walmart was the 16-pack of glasses, 3 of which were for "I'm sorry for breaking your glasses last night" presents to ther people next door, and 5 of which we shot with a pellet gun after throwing off the balcony. Same day, too...

Knives and cookware are like tools. Generally, you get what you pay for, especially on the low end of the spectrum.

:thumbup:
Demeyere cookware

Lots of good advice here, but much of it is down to personal preferences.

Here is some random stuff we have in our kitchen that we like:

Mundial Future knifes - $700 : We like because they are much better looking than the Wusthofs and Henckels. Great feel and good quality steel, insanly sharp and relativly cheap. For general education about knifes I sugest going to youtube and finding the knife episode of 'Good Eats'.

Kenmore Stainless steel pans/pots - dishwasher safe, cheap and they cook great.

Various OXO gadgets - this company surprise me - first and only time in America I've seen good designs win over production costs. My particular favorite is the spring-loaded tongs, just because ;)

My wife and I are gadget people though - so we have to have 'cool' as well as quality. Your style may be different.

Cookware IMO is subjective...and ultimately it's what FEELS RIGHT in your hands...
Knives for example...I like to use German knives just fine on the Epiucurean boards but when I'm using Japanese Steel, I prefer the walnut blocks.

And for Tongs....Elund is the only brand for me ;-)

Demeyere and Le Creuset. Hit up the Wokshop in San Fran for some great carbon steel or light weight cast iron woks. In my humble option, although I love everything german, I prefer japanese knives. I like the lightness of the globals and I have a few shuns for heavy meat chopping. There is a custom knife maker based out of New York that I may get a knife from. It is either the knife or a robotic lawn mower this season.

Get what you can afford that works for you. I love the Demeyere more than the All Clad pieces I have. The Demeyere pans really get hot and stay hot. I have the Sirocco series and love them.

I agree with Chefwong though, handle these items before you commit to them. For my hands, certain pans were to heavy. The Demeyere and Le Creuset woks are heavy beasts in my opinion. I like copper but find that it is too much upkeep for most people. I have mild issues about scrubbing pots with Barkeepers friend and I know that I would spend all my time keeping my copper looking showroom new!

Set a budget and then exceed it:-)

:iagree::iagree: Henckles are not the best, Wusthof is one of the best out there.... Global are nice too, hey realchef .... why would Al kill you ???? no real data on this issue... also U know majority of the restaurants use Al pans......studies from Clemson U. found that you'll get far higher amounts of aluminum from antacids or deodorants then using in pans

The research is so unclear (re: Alzheimer's). There are studies with results leaning both ways regarding cooking in aluminum.

What concerns me regarding cooking with it, you will notice a difference with the end result. Anything even mildly acidic or base will pick up a clear metallic tinge. Have seen Aluminum foil literally dissolve in a hour when touching tomato based sauces, even BBQ sauce. Every aluminum saute pan becomes pitted and scarred from use. Reduced a beurre blanc ONCE in an aluminum pan. It turned green within a total time of 30 minutes. Whisking or stirring in them really exaggerates the degredation.

I am aware of the extent of usage in restaurants. Your higher end restaurants will avoid them. I know of a few even here in Santa Fe. Some that cannot afford steel or stainless pans, try to at least use stainless stock and sauce pans. This at least puts the long cooking times in a non-questionable vessel. Leaving the shorter cooking time items for the cheap saute pans at the time of service.

Without clear proof, it's hard to be certain. With the practical experience and the studies put together, it fits pretty well. There is an undercurent of agreement throughout the industry.

On the good side, rhizomes such as turmeric, galangal and ginger are reputed to hinder the advancement of Alzheimer's. The countries where curries are prevalent have the lowest incident rate of the disease.

Teflon is showing to be a cancer hazard as well. :( Having eggs for bkfst is questionable. At home, there are 2 egg specific pans. Both French heavy steel and well seasoned. These pans perform as well as teflon and are as cheap as the aluminum. It's unfortunate that they are hard to deal with in restaurants due their propensisty to rust. They have to be handled well to make it through repeated dinner services.

True - however - in order to get the teflon coating to start braking down you have to heat it to ~450 F and in order to produce dangerous amounts of the gas in question you have to reach ~700 F. These temperatures can occur in cooking, so it is a threat.

Cooking over low to medium heat however with Teflon is safe - just takes knowing to stay alive ;)

Teflon will also break down over time, thus flaking into your food ....

Here's an important question... Sharpening knives...

I have a couple large sets of really nice knives. And while I know it's best to use the hand sharpener, to be quite honest, the sound of a sharpening knife puts pins and needles into my entire body. It literally pains me.

So I have one of those electric sharpeners but I only use the sander, not the grinder.

And while I know I'll be ridiculed for not doing it the pure way, it's jut not worth the discomfort to me to hear that noise..

So, is machine sanding them really that bad?

If you have expensive knives then I would not sharpen any knives on my own, it should be sharpen by a professional sharpener ..... when you sharpen knives you are trying to achieve a "burr" on the tip, and most people do not have the knowledge to perform this task ...

So would you just bring your knives to one of those guys that:

"Makes keys AND sharpens knives"... ???

How often to re-sharpen?

B-Line -

Is your location still correct. LA ?
I know a couple of guys out there who can put a scary sharp edge for you when it needs some TLC

AL CLAD.....Copper core....

More fashion than function on the copper core AC.

Yup... Still in LA.. Usually my bro just sharpens the knives for me.. But I have to leave the kitchen when he does so.. The sound drives me NUTS..

Are the people you know knife sharpeners? Or just friends who will give me an edge? Either way, thanks for the offer.

And how often should they be sharpened? Check with trying to slice a piece of paper?

Use good cutting boards. Wood or Composite Plastic -- I prefer wood. Bamboo is too hard on knives.

Steel in between sharpening to keep the edge.
Use a tomatoe or potatoe and you can feel when it's not sharp anymore.....

I tend to get OCD with my hobbies. Did a short stint up your way but could not find anything in my outlook *OCD contacts* . Chefs Toys come to mind however.

Call Chef Wong's buddy. He will HONE the edge. Buy a good steel from him. Ask him to brush you up on steeling.

Knives need 2 types of sharpening.
Initial Honing
Maintaining the honed edge with a steel

Honing removes metal and reduces the size of the "teeth" and gets them into alignment. Knives do not need a burr. Burrs are bad. It is an excess of metal on one side of the edge. Feels sharp to the finger, but Performs no useful function.

A knifes's edge is just a refined saw blade. Small teeth (honing) and aligned (steel). The smaller and straighter the teeth, the sharper the edge. Too fine and edge dulls quickly.

A steel is used daily to just keep the teeth aligned. One or two brushes ONLY before each use. Do not stand there like some guys on tv just swiping for minutes. An old trick is to hold the steel point down onto the cutting board. Place the top, rear of the blade against the steel's guard and rest the heel on the blade on the steel. It should be between 22-25 degress naturally (on an 8-10" chef's knife). Simply swipe the blade downwards one to two times per side.

As ar as frequency??? Hone when it is no longer sharpened by a steel. Some knives of mine can go a year in a pro kitchen, some I would hone every 4-5 months. It depends on how well you use your steel. You can hone them as often at you like, you just wear away the blade.:(

As one member noted, heavily used All Clad tends to warp and the layers will delaminate.

realchef -

I'm still not a master on sharpening up my own knives with my stones.
I'll do my Macs and Shuns at home as I care less about them than others...

But for the Hattori and Shiefusa, I send my knives down to this guy in PA who is sharpens them like no tomorrow.

To the OP - Sorry for taking your thread off topic...

But if you want to start, go to a local rest. supply store and look at Paderno, Sitram .
But a 5-9 qt, whatever is you fancy, cast iron dutch oven is indespensiable.

Don't know if it's been mentioned but
no kitchen should be without a pair
of cast iron skillets. And a dutch oven.

indestructible, easy to clean, and
when you cure them in the oven the
surface becomes as slicker than teflon.

We have a 10 in and a 13 inch pair
and a 12 inch dutch oven and there is
nothing like baking smothered
chicken, short ribs, corn bread and
countless other dishes.

Chef Wong,

You said a mouthful! Like any kitchen lesson, it's a hard learned one. Embarrassment was a great motivator! With some help form a friend and alot of practice, I get by, but no master. Finding a good pro is rare. There's noone around here for 400 miles. :( Stuck with a Norton Tri-stone and some luck!

Always wanted some Hattoris-nice stuff. Never had the extra cash! ;pimp; One of my favorites is a former 12" sabatier, ground and cut to 8". Also, went to an estate sale in old Denver years ago. An elderly Japanese man had died. Bought his handmade stainless clever. He used 1/4" thick steel. Ground one side (right handed). It's awesome. Apparently, he had made other knives etc... but were all sold. Have always wondered about those other knives and if they were hand forged (folded). What a treat that would have been!

No wonder how the good knives always end up at work!!

When I had my restaurants in NYC, I had a sharpener who came to my restaurants to sharpen all our knives.......

I love love cleavers.....it's like my lefthand...being that it was the only knife in the household when I was young.

One of these days..and hopefully this year, I will get around to measuring out my cleavers. I plan to have my artisian make me a block just to hold all my cleavers... ;-)


Back to the the OP, as well, while not cookware related, but utensil related, I would start still with the local rest. supply and also look at utensils that are NSF rated for hygenic purposes.

Long story short, while the Rosle, WMF stuff looks all nice and pretty at your local houseware store, the cylinders are not sealed. so while the top and bottom *caps* close the cylinder handles on these...IMO, when you throw them in the dishwasher and stuff, water IMO seeps into these cylinders and create a ~unhygenic~ atmosphere. YMMW but this is my opinion at least...

That is so cool. never thought of it.

Don't worry about it, I really appreciate all this advice

:noadd: And you guys are awesome! I actually learn a lot from all this discussions concerning domestic stuff. :thumbup:

At home you have more control on how it is used. Anything near a hot saute is geting into the temp danger zone.

As far as restaurants go there is no control. Even when you watch people on tv, the first thing they will do with even a teflon pan is get it smoking HOT. That=dangerous temps. Not to mention (as mentioned earlier) the break down of the coating.

Smoke points on cooking oils are anywhere from 380-490 deg. Think about the area off the pan where the steak/fish/chicken is not. It will achieve a much higher temp as there is no mass absorbing the heat.

I see them used everyday. Some kitchens only use them for eggs, some for many items. They can wear out an egg pan in 1 month. Then the scratched or damaged surafface pans are usually relegated to saute work. Then they degrade even faster then. Nobody is trying to preserve the pristine surface for eggs and they just get worn out.

I eat at home alot or try (it's impossible to avoid 100%) to frequent places that limit the use of Teflon and Aluminum. Yes, there is a bit of an inside track here. If you are poilite and there when it's not busy, ask to go into the kitchen and introduce yourself to the Chef. Most will appreciate a compliment and speak about these subjects. If you do, remember, these guys are busy and work a schedule that would break most people.:p:

You might see some older and worn out kitchens and hopefully some surgically clean as well.